1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of controlling drainage of wash water remaining in a washing machine and, more particularly, to a method of controlling drainage of wash water remaining in a washing machine to reduce an amount of wash water and time for a rinsing cycle while improving efficiency of the rinsing cycle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a washing machine refers to an electronic appliance that automatically washes laundry with wash water. The washing machine receives the wash water from outside and drains the wash water outside the washing machine after washing operation.
In a drum washing machine, a drum is rotatably disposed inside a tub that defines an inner space for receiving the wash water. The wash water is drained from the tub to the outside through a drainage device communicating with the tub.
When draining the wash water from the tub to the outside, a drain hose located at a lower side of the tub allows natural draining by head drop. However, if the drain hose is located higher than the lower side of the tub, it is necessary to perform coercive draining using a drain pump.
A conventional washing machine uses the drain pump to drain contaminated wash water before a rinsing cycle. In this case, the contaminated wash water is liable to remain in the drain hose due to deterioration in drainage capability of the drain pump and the like. As a result, clean wash water supplied to the tub is liable to be mixed with the contaminated wash water remaining in the drain hose, thereby reducing efficiency of the rinsing cycle while increasing the amount of wash water and time used for the rinsing cycle.
Therefore, there is a need to solve such problems of the washing machine.